The Smoothest Ride ... Tips, Articles, and Stories For The Paso Fino Horse Enthusiast

By Lynn Gallup ©

In many breeds of horses, a laid back shoulder angle is desireable in trotting and gaited breeds. It aloows the horse to be in balance more so conformationally and gaitwise. The desired balance horse top line (from front of withers to the back side of the poll) on the neck will be double the length of that of the underside of the neck (from point of shoulder to throatlatch). A laid back shoulder angle allows a more upright neck attachment with more defined shoulder into neck attachment; allows for a longer reach of stride as the front legs can extend further forward ... draw a straight line down from the the shoulder angle and the horse should be able to extend its legs that far forward in stride.

Sloping shoulder with very good balance in conformation and proper gaitA horse with a straighter or more upright shoulder will be shorter of the topline of the neck due to the withers being more upfront or straighter up, and then lack the balance in the neck. A horse with a more upright shoulder will have its neck tie in lower to his body, with less definition where the neck ties into the chest area when viewed from the side. This type of conformation is mostly all "front end" and will often lend to a trot over a Paso gait.

More upright shoulder angle and less balance in overall conformationThen, the same applies to the mid section of the horse. A horse with a steeper shoulder will be longer in the topline of the back, where a balanced midsection back ratio would be the top line be half of the underline of the belly. As in the case of straighter shoulder horses the necks are usually tied in lower to the body ... train your eye to look for this when you see horses. So lacking balance again and overall, the horse conformationally wouldn't be likely to be able to engage his hindquarters as well. Gaited horses needs to be able to work off their backend. A straighter shoulder is not as desired for a horse to remian sound if worked hard due to more up and down "jackhammer" impact on the limbs, joints, and hooves hitting the ground. Not a smooth ride for the passenger either!This type of conformation leads to more weight on the front end, less balance resulting in form to function with less natural gaiting ability unless the genetics are really strong for a more lateral or 4 beat even gait. I wish I didn't see as much of this as I do, but it seems to be fairly common in the today's Paso Fino breed.

Lynn Gallup was introduced to the Paso Fino breed in 1975, while owning a Half-Arabian at the time. She began actively showing them in the Atlantic and Piedmont regional Paso Fino shows in the mid-70’s. Today, she owns Gracewood Farm Paso Finos in New Hill, North Carolina, where she continues to train her own horses she breeds as an amateur-owner. The “Training Tips” are learned from hands on experience and attending numerous clinics over the years involved with horses. Lynn’s website “The Smoothest Ride” went online in 1997, and offers helpful and informative tips, articles, and stories for the Paso Fino horse enthusiast. URL: www.pasofinoequestrian.com.